Distortion
by speed killz
Summary: The words they spoke reached her ears and were distorted by her disbelief until they no longer made any sense. Memories-delusions?- she couldn't tell anymore. It was always like this. Or was it...?


_Summary: The words they spoke reached her ears and were distorted by her disbelief until they no longer made any sense. Memories-delusions?- she couldn't tell anymore. It was always like this. Or was it...?_

_Distortion_

_Part 1_

White and blue checkered blankets were thrown back with the least energy required, the tawny-haired girl lethargically uncovering herself as her alarm droned on insistently in her ears.

Gathering up another small burst of energy, the girl sat up, hunched over and eyes still shut tight against the invading light as she reached over, hand slapping against the bedside table until it encountered the small plastic form of her cursed alarm clock. Still-numb fingers found the snooze button and shut the cursed device off. A yawn followed, so big that tears formed in the corners of her eyes.

Rubbing the back of her hand across her face to disperse the moisture, Ritsu Tainaka finally opened her piercing golden eyes, half-lidded until she grew accustomed to the brightness of the room.

A gentle sigh. Another yawn. Gently she ran her hand through her unbound hair, tugging gently at the knots that formed in her strands. If she had time later, she would run a brush through it. She doubted it though.

Now, she swung her legs over the edge of her bed. Standing up, she stretched, raising her arms high into the air and leaning back as all of her muscles protested in a painful yet pleasing kind of way. Her heart also protested the sudden elevation change, as blood pounded unmercifully in her head, making her-

* * *

_"This is the west wing, where all of the level three's are kept." The petite blonde girl motioned to the double doors blocking their progress. _

_"Level three's?" The girl inquired, dark hair cascading down her back in silky waves as she tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, a curious gesture she performed without even recognizing it._

_"It's a term assigned to the highest risk we have." Was the response. "This door stays locked for security reasons, and the triple pane glass is reinforced with wire and laminated."_

_"That'll keep people out." The girl nodded appreciatively, eyebrows creased slightly as she reappraised the doors._

_The blonde chuckled softly. "Mio, is it? Mio...It's to keep people in."_

* * *

Ritsu Tainaka was an energetic person by nature, and that was only amplified when she got together with her friends. In particular, her childhood friend. Grinning widely, she twisted the handle to the familiar old clubroom and threw the door open, entering with flair as per usual.

As usual, brown-haired Yui jumped up from the table she was seated at, throwing her a messy salute and greeting her loudly. The raven-haired Azusa merely rolled her eyes and tugged on Yui's sleeve, trying to get her to calm down. When her half-hearted attempts failed, she turned to Ritsu and greeted her as well.

Tsumugi was next, pouring her a cup of tea from her ornate china set, a gentle smile on her face as she caught Ritsu's eyes sliding to her prey.

Err...her friend.

"Ne, are we gonna practice or what?" Ritsu asked, eyes landing on the tall, slender form of her best friend. In response, the girl turned around, reaching up to brush a few strands of hair over her shoulder as she took a pick from between her teeth. She readjusted the strap holding her left-handed bass, as her cool, steely gaze landed on the excitable girl.

"We would be, if our club leader was on time." She retorted quietly, earning a snort of derision as Ritsu took her place behind the drums. Immediately, Azusa jumped up, enthralled by the idea of escaping the relatively boring conversation and trading it in for a practice session. Within seconds, she had broken free of Yui's grasp and slipped on her precious guitar, strumming each string individually as she methodically checked the tuning by ear. Verifying her work with the built-in tuner on her amplifier, she was pleased. Standing ready, she looked expectantly at Mugi and Yui.

Yui glanced at Mugi, who clapped her hands together.

"Let us practice for a while, hmm Yui?" She suggested. "Afterward, I have a special treat for you!"

Yui jumped up enthusiastically, grabbing her beloved Gitah and slinging it over her shoulders.

"Anything for cake-chan!" She exclaimed, before flicking on her amp and looking toward Ritsu.

Ritsu could feel the gazes of Azusa, Mugi, and Yui on her; she always started them off. Ritsu however, didn't return any of their looks as she kept her gaze glued to the back of the girl standing in front of her, the only one not turning to look at her.

"One, two, one-two-three-!" She started off energetically, pounding the drums perfectly to what was secretly her favourite song. Fuwa Fuwa Time rang out perfectly as Azusa, ever the dedicated guitarist, threw in some well-timed pinch harmonics before leading them into the first verse, throwing a glance to their bassist who had momentarily stopped playing to adjust the microphone in front of her. When satisfied, her bass rejoined the music seamlessly, it's rumblings adding an extra subtle, yet satisfying dimension to the music.

With the deep bass tones rolling through her chest, Ritsu grinned wildly and sped up, pounding the drums uncontrollably. Azusa's guitar whined in protest, while Yui's faltered, unsure of whether to follow the drums or keep to the original beat. Mugi, torn between the two, sped up half a step, whilst the bassist merely shot her a look over her shoulder that went unnoticed as the dark-haired girl doggedly kept her bass on track and on time. Ignoring them all, Ritsu powered through the chorus, getting into a groove as her muscles warmed up. Her characteristic grin spread across her face as the rest of her band members resignedly sped up to keep pace with her. She didn't care; they were having fun, right? That was what it was all about. She wanted to have as much fun as she could while she was here. After all, they all secretly knew it, right? Despite her brave talks, what were the chances they'd actually get famous? Chances were, their band would never leave this room.

* * *

_There was the sound of a very sturdy lock clicking, and Mio swallowed nervously. _

_"Don't be nervous, everything will be alright." The blonde assured, gently touching her arm. _

_"Come, this way. She's over here."_

_MIo stayed close to the blonde, glancing left and right as she moved down the hallway. She didn't what to expect, but it certainly wasn't immaculately clean white tiled floors and matching walls. _

_Almost before she was ready, they came to a stop in front of a door. Pulling out another set of keys, thankfully smaller this time, another lock was undone, and the door slid open, disappearing into a recessed slot in the wall._

_"I-is she...?"_

_The girl smiled sympathetically at her. "You'll see." She motioned Mio inside. "Go ahead. It'll be fine."_

_Mio carefully stepped inside of the room, careful not to make any noise, as if that somehow mattered. _

_She didn't expect to hear the door locking behind her, and she jumped, spinning around. Although initially alarmed at the idea of being locked in, her fears were quieted slightly by the presence of the blonde-haired girl. She had not abandoned her._

_A calming smile._

_"Why don't you go say hello?" She suggested, gesturing toward the bed._

_Mio turned around slowly, and for the first time in too many years, laid eyes upon what remained of her childhood friend._

A/N: Feels like I haven't had a chance to write in forever! Looking forward to updating all my fanfics. Not much to say about this two part fic. Reviews, thoughts, all appreciated.


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